Time for a breakaway from the neighborhood.

In the words of Billy Joel, I have not exactly been in a New York State of mind but unplugged with soft golden sand between my toes on the Jersey shore for the last week.

I cannot recall the last time I slept as much as I have and as vacations go, this was one of the most restful. Mentally I "unplugged" where the biggest decision of the day was where were we going for breakfast?

Have you ever painted a pot? I have not picked up a brush to paint in the artistic sense for many, many, years until this week. As an escape from the heat of the beach, my wife & I headed to paint a pot and whiled away a good three hours. As this was the only thing I truly concentrated on all vacation I found myself in an artistic zone and throughly enjoyed painting again for the first time in a long time.

My reading list included "Lost Daughters from China" given our adoption plans, this book has been high on my must read list when I have the time. This week I had the time and promised myself to read this book before any other beach thrillers that normally sit in my hands on vacation.

Lost Daughters of China is a fantastic book. I thought I knew a great deal of the adoption process, and in particular the journey of "little blossom" the name we have for the moment use in family circles when discussing our daughter. Her name will be announced at the time we receive a refferal and photograph.

The book explains many cultural issues and the history of the one child policy among many other things that any adoptive parent from China should read and understand before completing the adoption process. I certainly know more today than I did last week.

And finally, this year I had my bike at the shore, after many years of always wanting to taken bikes to the shore it was a pleasure to cycle to breakfast and mooch around the quiet back roads with the other cyclists.

Plugging back in to the real world, I did see some of the Democratic Convention from Boston my views will follow in due course. In the meanwhile I am watching the situation develop in the Sudan.